needs a title
by Persephone1387
Summary: Teddy has been abused by his boyfriend for to long and runs away to Washington. While there he meets the pack, including a newly returned Jacob, and tries to mend his broken heart. When Jake imprints on Teddy will they find happily ever after?
1. Chapter 1

Title

Title?? (any ideas let me know)

By: PersephoneHale

X-Over: Harry Potter/Twilight

Summary: Teddy Lupin has been abused by his boyfriend for to long and runs away to the Olympic Peninsula. While there he meets the pack, including a newly returned Jacob, and tries to mend his broken heart. When Jake imprints on Teddy will they be able to work past the obstacles that stand in their way, or is happily ever after just a dream?

Disclaimer: No matter how much I may wish it I own neither Harry Potter nor Twilight…

-Chapter 1-

Teddy's POV

He's always told me that he loves me. Three years I believed him, three years I trusted him blindly. I listened to every word he said, he told me what a relationship should be, that what we had was made to last forever and I never questioned him. Not once. Not until today. But I'd never had a reason to doubt him before now; he'd never hurt me like this before. Never so deeply.

--flashback--

He told me to meet him in the prefect bathroom, I didn't know why he never let me into his bed but I'd honestly never cared, we had an entire castle full of dark corners and hidden rooms. I'd never enjoyed the bathroom though; he gave me enough bruises during sex without all the hard marble surfaces that this room provided. Silently I hoped he wasn't angry with me, I was supposed to meet him at lunch but my professor had held me back. If he was angry I would just have to handle the punishment. as soon as I got to the door I wanted to turn around. I didn't know why but deep down I knew this was going to hurt more than anything else ever had. But he had me well trained and I opened the door against my better judgment.

I knew it would hurt but this was torture.

I expected to be hit, I expected to be yelled at, and I more than expected to be taken roughly with a hard counter digging into my stomach…

But I also expected him to be alone…

I hadn't prepared myself for this, to see someone else in his arms being held and kissed far more gently than he had ever handled me.

I stood frozen for several minutes before he looked up at me and then, after everything he put me through and every beating I had ever made it through, in that moment it took one smile from him to break me.

--end-flashback--

It had been at least two hours since I ran from the room. Ran until I was outside. I kept replaying the scene in my head. My chest felt hollow and from somewhere outside of my own mind I realized that I was sobbing. I was already frozen through when the rain started. I'd always loved the rain, it helped me think, cleared my head, and as my shirt got soaked a new thought began to prick at my mind. I suddenly remembered what I had learned in class today. The charm I had been having trouble with and had been asked to miss lunch for extra work on. It seemed almost providential…

I placed the tip of my wand to the inside of my elbow and almost smiled, before whispering the cutting charm and dragging a line to my wrist. I allowed my self to fully enjoy the rain before the world went black…

Jacob's POV

It had been a year since the Cullen's had left forks. When I left I had no intentions of ever coming back but as I was running across the country I had more time to think than I knew what to do with. After a few months I realized that I didn't think of Bella much anymore. More surprising was the fact that I didn't mind. She had made her choice; there was no going back. Now it was up to me to live my own life, and after a year as a wolf I was over Bella. If she was happy why shouldn't I be happy too? I was ready to go home. I missed my dad and my pack brothers. I wanted to smell the sea and watch the waves. I ran faster the closer I go. I knew it couldn't be far now, just a few more hours and I'd be home!

Suddenly I wasn't alone as first one and then another wolf joined my thoughts.

"Welcome back Jake!" It was Embry!

"Man, I thought you were never coming back!" I'd recognize Quil's voice anywhere!

"How could I stay away when I missed you guys so much?"

I let out a happy bark when my friends were there to meet me fifty miles from home. By the time we hit the border the rest of the pack was waiting with happy thoughts and news from the time I had missed. This was where I belonged and I was ready to take on whatever life threw at me. I had a feeling in my gut that something big was coming my way and I was going to meet it head on.

AN: please let me know what you think! should i continue? constructive critisism is always welcome! PersephoneHale


	2. Chapter 2

I was sure I was dead and the thought terrified me

AN: I am very happy with this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!!

Chapter 2

I was sure I was dead and the thought terrified me. Death was supposed to be comfortable and I was in agony. I was laying on something hard and itchy with more stiff itchy stuff wrapped around me, and there were voices everywhere. I couldn't quite hear what they were saying, it was like I had cotton in my ears but I thought I heard my name mentioned once or twice. I idly wondered if the dead could brush their teeth as my mouth tasted absolutely revolting, and my nose was burning as well, some sickly sweet scent seemed to be close by and I was beginning to think that I must be allergic. But the worst thing had to be the poking. Something was methodically poking me at random places on my body. Stomach, wrist, forehead, chest… I refused to accept this place as the afterlife. Minus the suicide I had been a good person and therefore my death should have led me somewhere peaceful, zen like… this was just annoying!

Trying not to think about the disappointment and agitation I was feeling I started to focus more on the disembodied voices hovering around me. I was almost positive that if I opened my eyes I could see exactly where the voices were coming from but I was afraid that if I looked around me then my purgatory would be even more disappointing than it already was. My vision was the only of my 5 senses left undisturbed. But that wasn't entirely true, my eyelids were glowing a bright red and that had to mean that there was a very bright light somewhere near my head. For a moment I felt hope, maybe I really did need to walk toward the light like in the movies.

Trying to move my feet proved impossible, the stiff itchy whatever it was kept them firmly against the hard itchy thing I was on. I hadn't felt like throwing a fit since I was 5, but at that moment I wanted to have a fit that would make a 2 year old proud. On the ground, feet kicking, fists flying, screaming my head off, the whole works. I tried to calm down, deciding that a temper tantrum was not the way to reach the Nirvana that I so desperately craved. I figured that my first course of action would be to survey my surroundings so I took a deep breath, counted to 10, and opened my eyes.

In one instant several things happened, not the least of which was that the light I had been focused on temporarily blinded me. The voice closest to me let out a surprised sound that hurt my ears. One of the voices near my feet disappeared only to return with another voice. A calm voice from my right side asked how I was feeling. And then a shrill voice on my left crashed into me causing pain to consume my left arm, and then that same shrill voice had the nerve to start scolding me.

"Theodore Remus Lupin what were you thinking? How could you do this to me? That was the single most idiotic thing you have ever done young man and you are in big trouble!! Don't think that just because you're laid up you will get off scot-free! Once you're all healed up I'm putting you on lock down! They can't send you back to school of course, so now you have to repeat a year! Honestly, what were you thinking?"

I could barely keep up with the frantic yelling and was still absorbing the end of what the voice had said when the calm voice spoke up again.

"This is not the time to be yelling at him. And threats of punishment are hardly the way to help him heal."

I felt insanely grateful to this voice for standing up for me. The shrill voice had been very unsympathetic and was making me both depressed and angry, not a good combination. But then some of the things they had said started to register and my mind began swarming with questions. For instance, why would anyone in the afterlife be upset about me being held back at school? And was it really possible to be grounded after you died? Were they going to lock me in a storm cloud? Is that a fitting punishment for whatever I had done to the shrill voice? How do you keep a disembodied soul on lockdown anyway? But that wasn't right, I wasn't disembodied, the constant itching and the memory of the poking were proof of that, not to mention the throbbing pain that still resonated in my arm. No I most certainly had a body.

This revelation started a swell of panic that I couldn't control. My mind worked in hyper drive to put all the pieces of this puzzle together. If I had a body and if the shrill voice was truly upset about me being held back, and if I was able to be grounded… I desperately wanted to stop this train of thought, but it was the only logical explanation, especially when my vision began to return. My Grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, and my Godfather, Harry Potter, were standing over me having a whispered argument over the correct way to raise me and who had primary custody. At my side a medi-witch was using her wand to check my vitals. That explained the annoying poking, my own personal demon with a stick. I began to hyperventilate wishing desperately for oblivion. I got my wish, and as I passed out my last thought prevented any hope at rest in my now unconscious state… 'I'm alive.'

By the time I regained consciousness the bright light had been turned off. I was alone in the hospital room and for that I was thankful. Now that I could think more coherently I began identifying all the things that were causing me discomfort. The itching was easy to solve as I was still tucked in tightly by the standard issue sickbed sheets that had prevented my feet from moving earlier, and the smell seemed to be coming from the bubbling potion on my bedside table. The taste I assumed was from lack of proper dental care during the as of yet unknown amount of time that I had been here. The poking problem had been solved earlier and had obviously stopped since the nurse was gone. It was a good thing to; if she had still been here I may have been tempted to bite her.

As I was remembering the day's events I began to cry quietly. How had I messed up? I was so sure I had found the vein. My Grandmother was obviously more angry than concerned, that hurt quite a bit. But that was the way it had always been. If I got hurt she was always more upset that I had been careless. I had heard many lectures from her over the years about being more responsible, usually given while she fixed up what ever injury I was currently nursing. She had never been a very sympathetic woman and as I have always been a very sensitive boy we tended to argue… a lot. And when I was distraught over my Grandmothers lack of concern or after we had finished another argument I went to my Godfather. He was the one to always talk me down from the ledge, so to speak. Several times in my life I had shown up at his door, duffle bag in hand, tears in my eyes, swearing that I would never speak to 'that woman' again and could I please have a place to stay. The longest I had ever stayed during one of these disagreements had been 3 weeks over the summer holidays when I was 13; she had made an unkind remark about my father, an offense I had yet to completely forgive her for.

As I let my thoughts wander I was startled by the door opening. Instantly I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I half expected the poking to start again and prepared to bite should that be the case. After a few minutes of nothing I reopened my eyes thinking that I was alone, but my Godfather sat in the chair at my side with an amused yet concerned look on his face.

"I figured you were faking."

"I thought you were that nurse come back to poke me some more. It's a good thing you didn't touch me, I might have bitten you on accident."

He laughed quietly at that and I felt the beginnings of a small smile on my face, despite the alarm I felt at how quiet my voice had been. I must have been out for quite awhile if my voice was that weak. I noticed a pitcher of water on my bedside table and poured a glass as I rasped out my first question.

"How long have I been here?"

"Almost two weeks. You lost too much blood and fell into a coma."

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you would tell me that…"

"No, I know how I lost the blood. I meant, why didn't I die?"

A pained look crossed his face when I asked that and I regretted my words instantly.

"You almost did Teddy. It was very touch and go that first day. If that Prefect hadn't found you when he did… I don't even want to think about it."

"I'm sorry…"

I said the words without ever giving a conscious thought to them, but they were true none the less. I was sorry. I had never meant to hurt him, but I had. And yet a part of me wasn't sorry at all. A very large part of me was still focused on the emotional pain that had lead up to my desperate suicide attempt and that part felt sorrier for me than for any pain I might have caused someone else.

It was silent for several minutes before he asked his next question. It was a question I wasn't ready for, one that I didn't want to answer. But I knew it had to be asked sometime, I was just glad that no one else was there.

"Why? What could have happened to make you do this?"

I was silent for a few moments and he began to look slightly resigned to the fact that I wouldn't answer. And I almost didn't, but I had never kept a secret from him before this and when I finally started talking I couldn't stop. I needed someone to know and Harry was the only one I trusted enough to tell. He wouldn't judge me for this; I had always been able to tell him everything. I started from the beginning, from the first day that I met Andrew. I told him about the abuse, both physical and mental, how it had started small and then escalated at an alarming rate. I held nothing back, I told him of how rough Andrew had been in bed, and then moved on to what had been the breaking point. I explained about the bathroom scene and what had led up to it, and then I told him my reasoning for trying to kill myself.

He listened quietly throughout my story but his emotions ran wild across his face. Concern was constantly present and I also saw pain, sympathy, anxiety and shock, but underneath it all the main emotion was fury, a deep black emotion that I knew wasn't for me, but for Andrew. After I had finished, my words hung heavily in the air between us. I felt him move to sit on the bed beside me and leaned into his side when his arm wrapped around my shoulders. Neither of us said anything and as I replayed everything I had just said over and over in my head I came to a startling conclusion about my own state of mind. I had unwittingly but very obediently defended Andrew. All throughout my story I kept backtracking and coming up with excuses for him, things that I had done to deserve what ever he had done to me. I felt the tears begin to fall as I realized how broken I really was. How unstable had he actually made me? More importantly, what if I couldn't be fixed?

AN: Sorry it took me so long to update but reality keeps ruining my life. I know this was very Teddy-centric but I love writing from his POV. I had intended to write something from Jacobs POV about readjusting to life at home but I can never get him right. I will hopefully have something from Jake next chapter but no promises. Please review and let me know what you think!! -PersephoneHale


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight… shocking, I know.

AN: Sorry this took so long; I had to put my life back together before I could even think about writing. I re-wrote this chapter 5 times but I think I got it right this time. Sadly there is no Jake in this chapter, but he will show up in the next couple of chapters. Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 3

I had never been more thrilled to see a door in my life. After I 'woke up' I had to spend 5 more days in the infirmary before the Mediwizards decided I was healthy. Then they took me to the mental health ward. I couldn't blame them. Perhaps if I had shared my story of abuse with more than just my Godfather they wouldn't have thought I was crazy (just because I knew I was crazy didn't mean that they had to know). Maybe if I hadn't made Harry swear to never tell anyone about Andrew then he could have stopped them from committing me. And maybe if I hadn't screwed up my suicide I wouldn't have been here for the 3 weeks that they kept me monitored. Three weeks of perfectly planned out schedules and therapist appointments. Three weeks of grey walls and grey sheets and grey clothes. Three weeks of hell to atone for my failed attempt at finding peace.

It only took two days for me to figure out the mind of my new therapist Dr. Warren. It was easy to see that he didn't really care. He wanted me to be 'healed' so that I could leave but he only wanted it because it was his job to want it. There was no caring involved but I'd be willing to bet there was money; he probably got a bonus for a job well done every time someone was released. I used his lack of care to my advantage. It's easy to convince someone that you aren't mentally unbalanced when they aren't really paying attention. I said all the things he needed to hear.

"Trying to kill myself was the biggest mistake of my life."

"I'm just so relieved that someone found me in time."

"I don't know how I could have been so selfish, not seeing the pain my death would have caused my loved ones."

5 days after I figured out what he needed to hear he decided I was ready for the outside world. It was the Ministry of Magic that kept me in here for the last next 2 weeks of my sentence. Apparently there are laws about attempted suicide that I hadn't been informed of. One of the punishments for such an act was 3 weeks minimum in a mental health facility; the other, which was only bought up half an hour ago, was the confiscation of your wand. I was told that I could have it back when I was 21 _if_ I passed their test to prove that I wasn't crazy anymore. 4 years and 5 months until I could have my wand back… I guess I wasn't finishing school. Gran, to put it mildly, wasn't happy about that and was currently arguing with a Ministry Official about a compromise, perhaps if I was supervised at all times while in possession of my wand I could be allowed to finish classes via home schooling. I didn't like that idea; we argued enough as grandmother and grandson how could we possibly handle student and teacher?

I was currently in the hospital waiting room staring longingly at the door. I wish my Gran would hurry up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Harry walk towards Gran and the man from the Ministry. He interrupted them but I couldn't hear what was said. I looked dejectedly back towards the door and resigned myself to waiting, but Harry came back only moments later.

"Ready to go?"

"We aren't waiting for Gran? She won't be happy with me if I just wander off."

"Let me worry about her. The ministry only ordered that you be under the supervision of a legal guardian and that includes me. Now then, are you ready to go?"

"Yes!"

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

My first day of freedom passed rather uneventfully; Harry and I walked around London for awhile before apparating to his house. Ginny made lunch and I played with James, Lily and Al. It felt like any other day that I had spent with them, so long as you excluded the looks Ginny Potter was giving me out of the corner of her eye. I tried to ignore her the best I could but I had to fake a loss of appetite when dinner came around just to escape.

The guest room at Harry's house had been mine for as long as I could remember. It was common knowledge that if I showed up, whether he already had a guest or not then I was to be given the room. It had happened before. Ginny's brother Charlie had come to stay with them two summers ago and was put up in the guest room; his third night there I showed up looking for a place to sleep that wasn't anywhere near my grandmother and successfully evicted Charlie _and_ James in a total of ten minutes. James was moved into Al's room and Charlie was moved to James' room for the duration of my stay.

Since I was the primary occupant of the Potter's guestroom Harry had let me decorate it, Ginny hadn't been happy about that. It looked a lot like my room at home, except that this room was bigger. It had dark wood floors and paneling halfway up the walls. The top half of the wall and the ceiling were both painted a deep purple with stars and constellations painted in silver. There was a hanging globe light in the middle of the ceiling made to look like a full moon. One wall had two doors on it, the left one leading to the closet and the right one to the private bathroom. I had a double bed with sheets that matched the purple on the walls and a black bedspread. In one corner I had a small entertainment center with a TV, DVD/DVR and a CD player, in front of the window there was a desk with my laptop on it. Since Harry had been raised by Muggles he enjoyed Muggle technology and my Grandfather (that had died before I was born) had been a Muggleborn so he brought it into Gran's home, between the two of them I had become rather addicted to it.

Lying down on my bed I watched one of the enchanted stars shoot across my ceiling leaving a faint, shimmering trail behind it. As I laid there I thought about my life; from my earliest memory to the most recent. My first memory is of my dads face when he told me goodbye. There was a war going on and he had to go fight, I didn't know that at the time obviously but over the years I'd had the blanks filled in for me. I was only a few months old, to young for memories as far as most people are concerned, but I can clearly see my dads face leaning over the edge of my crib with what I recognize now as an apologetic look in his eyes. I remember grabbing his finger and holding on tight and I remember him turning and walking away. My next memory was very similar except it was my mum saying goodbye this time. She and I were both crying when she left. Neither of my parents came back.

One of the best memories of my life came when I was 5. I was chasing after a chipmunk in my back yard and kept falling down; one of the more prominent traits that I got from my mother was my horrible lack of balance, walking across a smooth, stable surface is beyond my abilities, most the time the thing that trips me up is my other foot but sometimes it really is nothing, absolutely nothing. But back to my memory, I was having trouble running, and then all of a sudden I wasn't. Suddenly I was running really fast and I wasn't tripping all over myself and I was about to catch that stupid chipmunk. Then my grandmother walked outside, took one look at me and screamed. That was the day we found out what happened when you crossed a werewolf with a metamorphamagus.

My father's werewolf genes crossed with my mother's shape shifting genes gave me the ability to change into a wolf at will. Almost like I was born an animagus. On full moons I get the urge to change and I normally do so now just for the hell of it but I don't have to. I'm much more graceful with four feet than I am with two, which I love by the way, and I'm very fast as a wolf. I've always had some rather wolfy characteristics as well, like my affinity for very rare red meat and my slightly more pronounced canine teeth. And the annoying habit for biting people that I never outgrew. As for my mother she left me more than my embarrassingly clumsy nature, thanks to her I can change the look of my hair and eyes at will. Actually it's not entirely at will, sometimes when my emotions get the better (or worse) of me my coloring will change without my consent, almost like a mood ring. When I'm beyond enraged my hair and eyes turn black, when I'm very relaxed and totally Zen they tend to take on a blue tint, and most embarrassingly when I blush its not always just my skin, depending on the level of humiliation my hair has been known to go red as well.

Back to memory lane. When I was 11 I started school at Hogwarts. The start of the year feast had been horrendous, I had fallen on my way to be sorted and spent the rest of dinner dodging questions about my sudden switch from brunette to redhead. After dinner I got lost on the way to the Ravenclaw common room, we were supposed to be following the prefects but I got distracted at the library and fell behind. Speaking of the library, now might be a good time to mention that I am a dork. I read everything I can get my hands on, I'm obsessed with Lord of the Rings (I even taught myself Elvish), I love to play chess, I'm a history geek, I can solve a Rubix Cube in 15 minutes, the answer to everything is 42, I still dress up for Halloween, a pirate-ninja would be the coolest thing ever, I have a lightsaber, and I'm addicted to anime.

Sorry, back to my memory, I got lost on my way to the common room and by the time I found it an hour later I didn't even have the password to get in. My first night in Hogwarts Castle was spent on the floor outside our dormitories. During my first week of school I became painfully aware of the fact that I didn't get along well with the other people in my year, my entire house if were being honest. I was the youngest person in the school (my birthday is August 31st and school starts on September 1st), and I was always a little small for my age, I have only just recently hit what could be considered average height. I was an easy target to be picked on because of my size, and my almost paralyzing fear of conflict. My "flight or fight" instincts have always run more along the line of "flight or flight faster".

Anyways, the next memory that came to mind was from my third year at Hogwarts. It was November 17th and I was sitting by the lake working on an essay when I first saw Andrew. I had no problem admitting that he was handsome, I was only just 13 but I had never had any interest in girls, I knew from early on that my tastes were definitely of the male variety. He was a year ahead of me in school and nearly 15 at the time. He was several inches taller than me, with short brown hair and light blue eyes. I had only realized that I was staring when he caught and held my gaze, one eyebrow raised in question and a slight smirk on his lips. I could feel myself blushing, embarrassed at having been found out, and I knew that my hair had probably taken on a nice red tint but instead of laughing Andrew's smirk slid into an easy smile and he winked at me before running to catch up with his friends.

That first sighting was a rather bittersweet memory, as was the next one. It was only a week later that Andrew asked me to go to Hogsmead with him. I remember our first date like it was yesterday. He had been so polite that day, holding doors and pulling out chairs. He asked all sorts of questions and seemed truly interested in the answers. He held my hand more often than not and had surprised me with a trip to the book store even though he didn't care much for reading. When he left me at the entrance to my dorm he had kissed me, my very first kiss. It had been a wonderful day and that day turned into three blissful months. After three months something changed, even now I couldn't identify what it was but it marked the beginning of a downward spiral from joy to pain.

The Gryffindor quidditch practice had just ended and as Andrew put his bludger's bat away I made my way down from the stands where I had been watching. It had become routine for me to sit in the stands and do my homework while he practiced every Tuesday Thursday and the occasional Saturday. I had made it down to the pitch only tripping once on the stairs but instead of waiting for me like he always did he was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, and a little hurt, I went in search only to find him an hour later as he was on his way to dinner. I managed to corner him before he got to the Great Hall but he said he was hungry and if I needed to talk to him I could find him after he ate. I didn't eat much at dinner and made sure that I left the hall only seconds after he did. I still had to run to catch up but finally I got the chance to talk to him. I asked him why he had left me at the Pitch after practice and his only answer was that he had had more important things on his mind. That hurt quite a bit but I pushed on wanting to know what was bothering him. I followed him down three hallways trying to get a more definitive answer out of him before he snapped. We had just began walking up a staircase when I tripped, fell forward and knocked him down, I apologized immediately but he didn't seem to be listening so I reached out and put my had on his back. Before I knew what was happening he had turned around and hit me across the face. I sat stunned while he began yelling at me for being clumsy. I managed to hold off on crying for 5 minutes before I lost the battle and tears began streaming down my face. He seemed to snap out of his rage almost instantly. In seconds he went from yelling to trying to comfort me; he wrapped his arms around me and began apologizing. We stayed like that for ten minutes, him whispering about how much he loved me and that he never meant to hurt me and me with tears still rolling silently down my cheeks trying to make sense of what had just happened.

With that memory floating around in my head I began drifting off into a restless sleep. The last thing I heard before sleep claimed me completely was my grandmother flooing into Harry's living room downstairs and demanding to know where I was. I silently thanked the gods of sleep for keeping me temporarily away from her ranting and rolled over just as the world of dreams pulled me under.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing… shocking, I know…

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

It was dark when I woke up. My clock read 3:38 am, so I had been asleep for several hours. I was shocked to still be at Harry's house, having expected my Grandmother to demand I go home with her whether I was asleep or not.

The house was quiet, as would be expected this early in the morning, but outside a storm had rolled in. I couldn't see any lightning out my rain streaked window, but I could hear the low rumble of thunder a few miles off. I had a sudden urge to be out in the rain, so grabbing my shoes I prepared to head downstairs. I almost missed the piece of paper that had been slid under my door but I slipped on it as I was heading out my door. It was a note from Harry.

Teddy- Your Grandmother was here last night. I'm not sure how much you heard but she was rather loud so I'm sure you know she was angry. Most of that anger was directed at me for taking you from the hospital so don't worry about it too much. Once she got done yelling at me she had calmed down enough that she agreed it was probably best to let you sleep. She'll be back after breakfast to collect you. I thought it only fair to give you a warning. While most of her anger was at me she is still quite cross with you, but she's more angry about you needing to be in the hospital in the first place rather then the fact that you left without telling her. I wish I had a way to keep you here instead of sending you home to be punished for a crime that doesn't exist but blood-relative trumps godparent so I'm stuck. Just know that I don't blame you. You were hurting, still are hurting and pain makes people irrational. I'm telling you this now because I don't figure you'll want it brought up at breakfast. We'll figure out someway to get you away from her for awhile, I promise. For now just try to relax and I'll see you down stairs. –Harry

I read the letter through twice before I folded it and shoved it into my back pocket. I went down the stairs as quietly as I could, pausing every few steps to make sure I couldn't hear anyone moving about. I tugged my shoes on as I reached the backdoor and stepped outside into the downpour, heading straight for the tire-swing in the backyard.

I swung lazily back and forth as the rain fell. I let my shoes get covered in mud while my clothes got soaked through. I hummed tunelessly to myself for awhile and not so tunelessly for even longer. I mentally recited favorite lines from books and movies that I had memorized. I did a very good job of losing track of time. But a rather loud clap of thunder brought my distraction to an end. Opening my eyes (I couldn't even remember closing them) I noticed that the storm had grown around me. Lightning was flashing on the horizon now and I knew I would have to go inside soon.

Determined to make the best of the little time I had left in the rain I began planning out my escape. I knew I had to escape, that was the only clear thought I had left after reading Harry's note. My grandmother wasn't going to change and I would be miserable until she decided that I had learned my lesson. And who knew how long that would take? I couldn't do it, I refused to be subjected to that and as Harry had said I couldn't stay here if she demanded that I go home. All the times I had 'ran-away' I had always come to Harry's house and she had let me, if she had wanted me home all she would have had to do was demand it. The understanding that I had run-away on her terms upset me quite a bit and I felt a strong surge of rebellion coming on.

My mind took off on a new tangent for several moments, bouncing wildly around trying to find a suitably rebellious way to get back at her for this new found dominance. I considered getting a piercing or another tattoo even though my first, the phases of the moon on the back of my neck, had hurt quite a bit. I could get a motorcycle, but that would require a lot of money and I couldn't get into most of the money in my vault until I was 17. Unwilling to wait for a few months to rebel my mind thought furiously for some other option, any other option so long as I could act on it now.

I almost laughed out loud when inspiration struck at the exact moment as the next bolt of lightening. It was so simple; I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of it immediately. I would run-away. Really run-away, not to Harry's like she was used to; like she allowed. It was the best solution I could have asked for, a rebellion and an escape all in one. And maybe I could escape more than just my grandmother; if I did this properly perhaps I could escape my past with Andrew and attempted suicide as well. If I ran to a place where nobody knew me or had any expectations of me what-so-ever what was to stop me from creating a false past? I could rewrite it all and no one would be any the wiser.

I had to think this over quickly though, that much I knew. If I was going to run it had to be from Harry's, no one would expect me to run-away from here. This place had always been the destination not the launching pad. I had enough clothes here to last me at least two weeks before they would need washed, and I had a duffle bag in the bottom of my closet. Without my wand I couldn't catch the Knight Bus but if I caught a Muggle bus to downtown London I shouldn't have any problem getting to The Leaky Cauldron, and I was sure Tom would help me through into Diagon Alley if I asked. If I was at Gringotts right when they opened at 5 then I should still have an hour before anyone realized I was gone.

I would pull everything I could out of my vault and get it exchanged for Muggle money. My best chance at anonymity would be in the Muggle world. My Godfather is Harry Potter after all, and I think every Wizard in England would be able to identify me because of that. Inspiration struck again as I repeated my last thought back to myself, 'every Wizard in England', I'd already decided to hide myself with Muggles, why stop there? I may not have enough money for a motorcycle but I was pretty sure I had enough for a plane ticket, now the only question was where to go.

The next bolt of lightening saw me in motion. I managed to make it to the house without slipping and saw it as a sign that I was doing the right thing; if the universe didn't want me to run it should have slammed my face into the mud. I left my shoes on the porch and made my way upstairs stopping only to check for movement in the house. Hearing nothing but a few soft snores I went to my room and began packing.

The inside of my duffle bag was magically enlarged and the whole thing felt lightweight no matter how much I put into it. I was very grateful for both of these facts as I realized that I was unable to leave many of my things behind. After I shoved all of my clothes, a spare pair of shoes, the blankets and pillows off my bed (not knowing where I would be sleeping for awhile), a couple towels and my bathroom necessities into my bag I found myself gathering together all of my books.

The books were the first unnecessary things to be packed, but certainly not the last. My laptop soon followed along with my CD and DVD collections. I folded up my telescope and put it in, grabbed my sketch book and journal off of my desk and threw in some of my favorite random items from my room on top of that. But the last thing that went in was far from unnecessary, at least I thought it was. I pulled the seemingly small lock box out from under my bed and placed it gently inside the rampant chaos that was to be my get away bag; upon closer inspection of the contents of said bag I decided that 'roughing it' would never be one of my strong points.

The last thing I needed to do before I left was write a short letter to Harry. I was actually quite sad to be running away from him to but it was the only way. I just needed him to know that I wasn't mad at him, that this had nothing to do with him.

Harry- I'm really sorry about this I swear, but I have to get away. I don't know if you'll understand or if you'll be mad at me but I need to do this. I'll let you know I'm safe wherever I end up, okay? I'll send a letter every week, or maybe I'll just call if I can get to a phone. Thanks for everything. I don't say it much but I do love you and I promise I'll come back, at least for a visit, someday. Tell everyone I said bye, okay? But please don't look for me, I need this, I just need to disappear for awhile. I really am sorry. –Teddy

I left the note flat on my desk so that it wasn't immediately visible and shut the door behind me. I was careful on the stairs, the last thing I needed was to fall down them. I felt bad as I took some Muggle money out of the drawer in the kitchen, it was the emergency pizza money the James insisted they have around. I closed the backdoor behind me and slipped my muddy shoes back on. I made it to the bus stop at the end of the road without trouble and fidgeted nervously while I waited for the bus. What if Harry woke up and decided to check on me? I was pretty sure he hadn't done that since I was 7, but with the recent disturbances in the force would that change? I wasn't sure but before I could get properly worked up about it my ride showed up. I paid the fare and sat in the very back row next to the window. I felt calmer the farther we got from the Potter's house, and I was almost able to relax as we drove deeper into London.

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AN: okay, I will apologize for this taking so long but in my own defense it's been a rough few months. Just as the world was starting to put itself back together there was another death in the family. However, this time instead of avoiding writing I'm going to try to use it as an outlet, so hopefully they updates will come faster. I hope you haven't given up on me quite yet as I don't intend to abandon this story. Please let me know what you think, constructive criticism is always welcome. -PersephoneWhitlockCullen


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